by John Perrotto, Special for USA TODAY Sports

by John Perrotto, Special for USA TODAY Sports

MINNEAPOLIS --- Some players shy away from participating in the All-Star Home Run Derby.

Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout, considered the emerging face of Major League Baseball, opted out at the request of manager Mike Scioscia. Chicago White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu also declined to participate despite leading the major leagues with 29 home runs.

Players believe that changing their swing to try to hit home runs can have lingering effects on their hitting stroke once regular season play resumes.

Yoenis Cespedes, on the other hand, embraces the derby. He has participated in it twice and won both times.

Cespedes defended his title Monday night despite changes to the derby format that added an extra round of competition as he beat Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier 9-1 in the final round.

The 28-year-old Cuban became the first player to win consecutive titles since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 1999. Cespedes' win last year came at Citi Field in New York.

"I'm somebody who's very conscious of the power that I have," Cespedes said through a translator. "So I don't need to put more of a swing or more of an effort in order to hit a home run. I just have to look for a good pitch and put a good swing on it and it usually takes care of itself."

Frazier won the coin toss and chose to let Cespedes bat first. The right-handed hitting Cespedes responded by belting a series of pitches from Athletics third base coach Mike Gallego into the second deck.

Two of Cespedes' drive carried 452 and 446 feet to left-center field gap. He averaged 409 feet on the nine homers.

Cespedes has hit 14 home runs this season for the American League West-leading Athletics, which ties him for 19th in the league. However, he rises to the occasion in the derby.

"The guy is the two-time champion for a reason" Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said. "He's a five-tool talent. There is nothing he can't do. The ball just jumps off bat. He makes it look easy."

Frazier, meanwhile, was no match for Cespedes as he did not hit his home run until after he had made five outs against his brother Charlie Frazier, a former Marlins minor-league outfielder. The 28-year-old right-handed hitter has 19 home runs this season, good four fourth in the National League.

Participating in his first derby, Frazier was thrilled just to reach the finals.

"It was great," Frazier said. "It was just an enjoyable experience, a really fun time. Maybe next year I'll put up a little bit better showing at the finish, do a couple of more pushups at the end."

In the NL semifinal, Frazier blanked Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton 1-0. That came after Frazier downed Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki 6-2 in the second round